[123] God's Eye

"Such a beautiful run! They actively moved the ball towards Karasu and his team, perfectly timing it during the brief moment when both me and Rin were struggling to get back on defense. If we exclude the initial passing time, the entire offensive play—from the moment Sae noticed the opportunity to pull me and Rin out of position and started setting up the play, to the completion of the attack—took less than a minute."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. Defense, after all, is inherently reactive. As previously discussed when talking about a forward's threat range, humans simply can't outrun the ball.

Therefore, it's often the offensive side that chooses where to attack, and for the defenders, if the switch isn't executed properly, it can easily gift the opposing players an open opportunity.

This is why it's often difficult to counter when a player specifically targets another player.

This is also why defenders generally have height requirements—the selection criteria are designed to ensure that defenders always have the ability to resist, rather than just the ability to switch.

If a defender completely lacks the ability to contest aerial duels, no matter how strong their defensive skills are, the opponent can simply keep sending high balls into your area, targeting you relentlessly, and easily dismantle your team.

'And Sae precisely chose such a moment, using his teammates' continuous off-the-ball movements to pull both me and Rin away from the center of the field, allowing Shidou and Sendou to pin us down.'

'Moreover, both Sae and Hiori were consciously exploiting this. Compared to Rin, I actually managed to adjust my position twice to cut off the opponent's passing lanes. But every time I did, they would pass the ball back to each other, reopening the passing route to Shidou, thereby forcing me to stay on Shidou and preventing me from falling back to defend.'

At this point, Shinichi turned his gaze to Isagi: "But even that wasn't enough. To keep me constrained, both Sae and Hiori had to limit their attacking positioning. Even Sae, in the end, probably had to gamble on a shot. The real reason this attack succeeded was you, Isagi. Right after I had stripped you of your ability to exploit blind spots, you immediately recovered to about 80... no, 90% of your original level. And that final awakening of yours even surpassed your usual capabilities—was that 'Meta Vision'?"

"It's starting to get interesting," Shinichi said as he stretched, then looked up at the massive scoreboard above the stands. "It's a bit of a stretch, but the timing is just about right."

Dark lightning crackled wildly across the field once more, and the oppressive pressure bore down on everyone like a mountain.

"Alright then, the survival game begins—these final 25 minutes..."

"Try not to die out there."

The moment that overwhelming presence emerged, everyone instinctively turned their heads toward Shinichi.

No words were needed—everyone knew it. This monster was about to enter that state again. And from this moment on, the real battle would begin.

"Just one goal, and he's already putting this much pressure on us? Talk about leaving no way out," Aiku said with a wry smile, shaking his head. Then he took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening as he locked onto Shinichi's every movement. "But since our teammate just scored, we defenders can't afford to drag them down now."

"Come on, monster! If you've got the guts, tear us apart!"

"Well, tearing you apart might be a bit much. I'm not that violent."

Under the searing, almost combustible gazes of the entire U-20 squad, Shinichi seemed completely unfazed. He simply smiled, relaxed as ever. But then... the smirk on his face slowly faded.

A blinding storm of lightning erupted around him, completely obscuring his eyes—yet everyone knew what lay beneath that divine radiance.

A gaze that regarded them all with utter indifference.

"But breaking your spirits... now that should be easy enough."

The instant those words left his mouth, Shinichi became the storm. A thunderclap in human form, he exploded forward like a streak of lightning, surging past Shidou and Aiku's frontline defense in the blink of an eye.

"Too fast! Damn it, this bastard… How is it that after an entire match, instead of slowing down, he's gotten even faster?!" Aiku cursed as he immediately spun around, sprinting to chase after Shinichi. At the same time, he raised his hand and barked orders. "Shidou, lock onto the genius' little brother! Teppei, Kazuma—stop this monster!"

"If he insists on challenging our defensive net head-on, then bring it on! No way we let the prey slip through our net again and again!"

The two players in front of Shinichi had no energy to respond, but they carried out their tasks with unwavering determination.

Facing Shinichi's relentless, breakneck charge,Teppei threw everything he had into one desperate lunge, managing to disrupt Shinichi's stride for a brief instant when he made contact with the ball.

Though Shinichi quickly switched feet, pivoted, and left Teppei behind in a flash, that split second of resistance was enough.

In that fleeting moment, Kazuma surged forward, slamming his bodies in front of Shinichi with unwavering force. His muscles swelled with exertion, veins bulging so intensely it seemed as if they might burst at any second.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow in surprise, glancing at the fire burning in his eyes. Even he had to click his tongue in amusement.

"If I'm not mistaken… your goal is to hold me back for a single second? That's enough to set you ablaze?" He let out an impressed chuckle. "Not bad. To think under the leadership of that decaying fossil, you lot could still reach this level. As watchdogs, you're doing a fine job."

"But… did you really think a couple of stray mutts could keep me locked down?"

His voice carried a mix of mirth and irritation, an amused scoff laced with contempt.

Just as the lightning in his eyes flared, just as he prepared to bulldoze through the foolish soul daring to sully the king's robes—

A strange sensation exploded in his brain.

It shot up his spine like a jolt of electricity, surging from his back straight to his central nervous system.

An unfamiliar, unprecedented feeling.

Shinichi's eyes widened sharply, and for a brief moment, the lightning in his gaze froze.

That instant of hesitation was all it took—Kazuma had accomplished his goal.

It was just enough time for Sae and Hiori to complete their defensive switches. The beaten Teppei swapped marks with Sae, cutting off Yukimiya's options, while Hiori and Sae worked together to completely seal off passing lanes.

At the same time, Aiku had already caught up.

No time to think.

Shinichi moved on instinct, following the strange impulse that had erupted in his brain.

With an almost unconscious flick of his heel, he sent the ball rolling between Kazuma's legs. It spun toward an empty patch of the pitch, seemingly headed straight out of bounds—

"Ah, that's not good! Was that a mistake?!" The commentator's voice rang out in disbelief. "Even the great Shinichi can make an error under this kind of pressure! Looks like possession will change hands. But even with this minor slip-up, Blue Lock still holds a comfortable lead, so as long as they—wait, no! Someone's chasing it!"

A blur of red streaked across the field.

"So fast! Who is that—?! Like a crimson meteor, He completely overtaken Oliver Aiku! Can he reach it—? He got it! The one who snatched the ball is Blue Lock's No. 4—Chigiri Hyoma!"

The commentator's voice was thick with excitement, marveling at Chigiri's blistering speed and perfect positioning.

But in the broadcast booth, the on-site analyst's voice wavered, laced with something close to fear.

"...How?"

His gaze locked onto the scene below—the king, encircled by enemies, yet standing tall as if they were not challengers, but subjects rushing in from all sides to lift him to his throne.

"How did he pass there?!"

"That spot was completely empty just seconds ago! Shinichi didn't even look in No. 4's direction!"

"Shinichi... Could it be—does he have the Eyes of God, capable of seeing the future?!"

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